Build Your Children's Classical Library

Thanks for checking out our library of literary suggestions!

We are carefully curating a wonderful list of inspiring stories sure to awaken your wonder. We are currently updating our lists, but be sure to check out our recommendations.

Below, you will find different pages for every age of learning -- from pre-reading through the college-age. Special consideration will be taken in the suggestions for parents. Some books will help parents gain a better understanding and appreciation for the classical liberal arts, and some titles will help parents understand the amazing education experience their children are undertaking!

As Cicero said, " If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." Note: we also have a garden at St. Ann's!

• The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone
• The House That Jack Built illustrated by J.P. Miller
• Mr. Pine’s Purple House by Leonard Kessler
• Curious George by H.A. Rey
• Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
• My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Glenna Lang
• Charlie Needs a Cloak by Tomie dePaola
• Barndance by Bill Martin Kr. & John Archambault
• Tikki Tikki Tembo retold by Arlene Mosel
• Noah’s Ark by Barbara Shook Hazen & Diane Muldrow
• The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston & Tomie dePaola
• In November by Cynthia Rylant
• The Gingerbread Boy by Paul Galdone
• The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats
• Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
• Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
• Never Tease a Weasel by Jean Conder Soule
• The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
• The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown
• Home for a Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
• Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
• Corduroy by Don Freeman
• One Fine Day by Nonny Hogrogian
• Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone
• Andy and the Lion by James Daugherty
• Chester’s Way by Kevin Henkes
• The Story of Little Babaji by Helen Bannerman
• Ten Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle
• The Empty Pot by Demi
• The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
• The Friendly Beasts by Tomie dePaola
• Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown
• The Mitten by Jan Brett
• Snow by Cynthia Rylant

• A Tale for Easter by Tasha Tudor
• What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
• A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
• An Extraordinary Egg by Leo Lionni
• The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman
• Come On, Rain! by Karen Hesse
• Wonders of Nature by Eloise Wilkins
• Hubert’s Hair-Raising Adventure by Bill Peet
• Abe’s Fish by Jen Bryant
• This First Thanksgiving Day by Laura Krauss Melmed
• The Little Fir Tree by Margaret Wise Brown
• The Twelve Days of Christmas illustrated by Jan Brett
• Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry
• Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
• Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening illustrated by Susan Jeffers
• Gregory’s Shadow by Don Freeman
• Walter the Baker by Eric Carle
• Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton
• The Frogs and Toads All Sang by Arnold Lobel
• Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran
• Cactus Hotel by Brenda Z. Guiberson
• Hide and Seek Fog by Alvin Tresselt
• All Things Bright and Beautiful by Cecil Frances Alexander
• The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown
• A Tree Is Nice by Janice May Udry
• How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman
• Frederick by Leo Lionni
• Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus by Peter Sis
• Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall
• Pumpkin Moonshine by Tasha Tudor
• The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
• Pancakes, Pancakes! by Eric Carle
• Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban

• A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker
• The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane by C. M. Millen
• A House Is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman
• Miss Twiggley’s Tree by Dorothea Warren Fox
• Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber
• A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus by David A. Adler
• Katy No-Pocket by Emmy Pane
• Wynken, Blynken, and Nod by Eugene Field, Illustrated by Johanna Westerman
• The Caboose Who Got Loose by Bill Peet
• The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear
• The Little Island by Margaret Wise Brown
• The Very First Thanksgiving Day Rhonda Gowler Greene
• Choo Choo by Virginia Lee Burton
• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
• Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
• The Moon Shines Down by Margaret Wise Brown
• Norman the Doorman by Don Freeman
• Pickle-Chiffon Pie by Jolly Roger Bradfield
• The Star-Spangled Banner Illustrated by Peter Spier
• Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books by Kay Winters
• White Snow, Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt
• Patrick – Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie de Paola
• Doctor DeSoto by William Steig
• Little Toot by Hardie Gramatky
• Rechenka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco
• The Glorious Flight by Alice and Martin Provensen
• Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears by Verna Aardema
• Fly High, Fly Low by Don Freeman
• Millions of Cats by Wanda Ga’g
• The Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow
• Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
• A Time to Keep by Tasha Tudor
• Saint Francis and the Wolf by Jane Langton, Illustrated by Ilse Plume
• Johnny Appleseed by Reeve Lindbergh
• The Boy Who Drew Birds by Jacqueline Davies
• The Monkey and the Crocodile by Paul Galdone
• Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss
• The Ant and the Elephant by Bill Peet
• One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey
• Amos and Boris by William Steig
• Cinderella by Marcia Brown
• A Picture Book of Amelia Earhart by David A. Adler
• The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Hutchit Bishop & Kurt Wiese
• Wee Gillis by Munro Leaf
• The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh
• Lucy’s Christmas by Donald Hall
• The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski
• The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
• The Big Snow by Berta and Elmer Hader
• The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton
• The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
• Saint Valentine by Robert Sabuda
• George Washington’s Breakfast by Jean Fritz
• Farewell to Shady Glade by Bill Peet
• Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent by Bill Peet
• Emily by Michael Bedard
• Sam, Bangs, & Moonshine by Evaline Ness
• Island Boy by Barbara Cooney
• The Easter Egg by Jan Brett
• Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, illustrated by Ted Rand
• Verdi by Janell Cannon
• The Gift of the Tree by Alvin Tresselt
• Maybelle the Cable Car by Virginia Lee Burton
• A Visit to William Blake’s Inn by Nancy Willard
• The Fourth of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh
• Lucy’s Summer by Donald Hall
• Casey at the Bat ill. by Katie Khan
• Cupid and Psyche by M. Charlotte Craft
• They Were Strong and Good by Robert Lawson
• The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg
• Persephone by Sally Pomme Clayton
• Chanticleer and the Fox by Barbara Cooney
• Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling, ill. by Jerry Pinkney
• The Tale of the Firebird by Gennady Spirin
• Over the River and Through the Wood by Lydia Maria Child, ill. by Christopher Manson
• Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect by Richard H. Schneider
• An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco
• The Nutcracker by E.T.A Hoffmann
• The Nutcracker by Stephanie Spinner
• Twas the Night Before Christmas ill. by Matt Tavares
• Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck
• Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky
• King Midas and the Golden Touch by Charlotte Craft
• Pegasus by Marianna Mayer
• The Tale of the Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt
• The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen, ill. by Jerry Pinkney
• The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen
• Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library by Barb Rosenstock
• Squanto & the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas

• Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
• Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
• D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths by Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire
• American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne
• The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright
• James Herriot’s Treasury for Children by James Herriot, ill. by Ruth Brown & Peter Barrett
• A Day on Skates by Hilda van Stockum
• The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis
• The Borrowers by Mary Norton
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

• An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott
• The Story of the Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit
• I Saw Three Ships by Elizabeth Goudge
• Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
• The Apple and the Arrow by Mary and Conrad Buff
• Farmer Giles of Ham by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
• Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
• The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame
• The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
• Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
• The Winged Watchman by Hilda Van Stockum
• Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
• Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
• Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford
• Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
• Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb
• Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
• The Princess & the Goblin by George MacDonald
• I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
• Across Five Aprils Irene Hunt
• The Story of the Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke